http://www.blackpast.org/files/blackpast_images/event_omaha_courthouse_lynching.jpg

 This image is of a lynching. It is very relavant to “Big Boy Leaves Home” for various reasons. It was one of the major consequences of crime for an African American during that time. Fear of being lynched is the main reason that Big Boy needed to leave home.

http://photos.igougo.com/images/p73967-Cincinnati-Sharon_Woods_Stream.jpg

During most of the story, Big Boy and friends were playing around water and the woods. This image is what I thought of as I was reading the story. Even after Jim was shot, Big Boy and Bobo had to run through the woods to get back home. The trees, branches, and the woods in general were constantly present in the description of the scenery in the text.

http://www.airsoftatlanta.com/images/new_shotgun_1a_jpg.jpg

The shotgun itself was the single factor that ended many lives in the story. It contributed to the conflict in “Big Boy Leaves Home”.  Once Big Boy got a hold of Jim’s gun, he shot him.

Annotated Bibliography

Denissova, Tamara. “ Richard Wright: The Problem of Self-Identification”.

              The Mississippi Quarterly 50.2 (Spring 1997): p 239. Literature Resource Center. The Richard

Stockton Coll. of NJ Lib. Pomona, NJ. 13 June2009.                  

This essay involves people of Russia and their opinion of Richard Wright’s work and their problem with his self-identification.

Hakutani, Yoshintobui and Toru Kiuchi. “The Critical Response to Richard Wright in Japan.”

The Mississippi Quarterly 50.2 (Spring 1997): p 353. Literature Resource Center. The Richard

Stockton Coll. of NJ Lib. Pomona, NJ. 14 June2009.

This critical essay explores interpretations of Wright’s work as it was introduced to people in Japan. It includes their reaction to his work and what they felt it meant.

Higashida, Cheryl. “Aunt Sue’s Children: Re-viewing the Gender(ed) Politics of Richard Wright’s

                Radicalism”.  American Literature Vol 75.2 (2003): 395-425. JSTOR.

The Richard Stockton Coll. of NJ Lib. Pomona, NJ. 14 June2009.

This essay is just as described in the title. It’s a review of the gendered politics of Richard Wright’s radicalism.

Mechling, Jay. “The Failure of Forklore in Richard Wright’s Black Boy”.

                The Journal of American Folklore Vol. 413 (Summer 1991): 275-294. JSTOR.

The Richard Stockton Coll. of NJ Lib. Pomona, NJ. 14 June2009.

This essay aims to explain how folk traditions failed Wright.

Relyea, Sarah. “The Vanguard of Modernity: Richard Wright’s The Outsider”.  Texas Studies in Literature

                and in Language 43.8 (fall 06): p 187. Literature Resource Center. The Richard Stockton Coll. Of

                NJ Lib. Pomona, NJ. 14 June2009.

This is a critical essay written on Richard Wright and his work on The Outsider. This essay states the opposite of what many people think of Wright. It describes his work in The Outsider as a “failed philosophical novel”.

“Richard Wright (1908-1960)”. Literary Criticism. 2009. 10 June 2009

                < http://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/WrightRichard.htm>

This site lists many essays that critique Richard Wright’s work.

For the full text of Richard Wright’s “Big Boy Leaves Home”, you can visit:

http://www.nbu.bg/webs/amb/american/5/wright/bigboy.htm

“Big Boy Leaves Home” is a story that takes place in the south during a time when racism was much more prominent than it is now. That time period in particular marks the era where African Americans were lynched or burned for their bad actions. This story addresses many problems and also the solutions to those problems; thus, creating many themes throughout the text. Racism and Survival were two of the major themes of “Big Boy Leaves Home”. The author, Richard Wright, was born on a plantation so he used his personal experiences as child to make this story life-like. As you might have read in the summary, the main character Big Boy had to find a way out of his town and move on to a new life and location if he wanted to continue on living. Racism in the TextRacism is the overall bigger picture in this story. Everything is centered around it. It’s the main reason that the situations in the story took place. Hanging, shooting, and burning people were all consequences of African Americans’ poor decision making during that time. In “Big Boy Leaves Home”, the group of boys went swimming in a white man’s pool. Not that their actions were acceptable, but the white landowners could have handled it differently as they would today. If that had been a group of white children swimming in there, the outcome wouldn’t have been the same. Due to racism, three of the four boys were killed one way or the other. Little did they know that having a little fun would lead to the end of their lives. The setting of the story plays a major part in the severity of the racism and how it affected the boys as well as their families. In the south, racism was much more of a problem than up north. This is proven to be true when the family’s friend suggests that Big Boy takes the road trip to Chicago. Although as a young boy, Big Boy made some carless mistakes, he is also viewed as courageous, a hero, and many other things of that nature. He tried to save his friend’s life as well as his. He not only challenged a grown man, but a grown man with a weapon! This says a lot about his character. Big Boy is strong and knowledgeable. He is aware of how society is and also how hurting a white man could affect him, but he really put himself out there and succeeded in saving his friend’s life. The story is told from Big Boy’s point of view; however, readers will gain a clear understanding of how the people of that time were thinking. As Big Boy was describing what he was going through, it was clear that this lifestyle was all he knew. He seemed fearful at times but he honestly went against those fears and saw the bigger picture. Racism was so strong that people could really sit around and burn or hang bodies and not think twice about it. Everything in the story was about the “white man” or “n***ers” rather than male or female or child and adult. Everyone was described through race. It seemed to be the only factor that mattered throughout the story. If racism weren’t present in the story, would there be anything to talk about? Would you care to hear a story about average young boys who went swimming in someone’s pool, got in trouble, and then went back home to their regular lives? Maybe you would; however, to hear about people dying due to the color of their skin illuminates the situation and makes it much more meaningful. This was actually the way of the world at one time. Events like this actually happened. Racism had shaped how they lived during that time and still shapes how we live today. Something so simple as someone’s color determined how their lives would be. “Big Boy Leaves Home” uses racism to highlight the important factors of this story and why events turned out the way that they did. SurvivalSurvival was the other major theme that contributed to the story. Once Big Boy shot the man, survival was the only topic of discussion. Not only was surviving important, but doing it my any means necessary was the key. The family called on help from many of their close friends to develop a plan to keep Big Boy alive. After much brainstorming, Elder Peters came up with the idea of Big Boy riding with his son to Chicago. It was Big Boy’s only logical option at that time so he had to do it. The problem with that was that Elder Peter’s son would not be leaving until early in the morning for Chicago so Big Boy would have to hide out. Again, Big Boy had to do whatever was necessary. He took some food with him, and proceeded to hide out until his ride had arrived. Big Boy hid in a whole overnight until the sun came up with no water to drink and little food to eat. During his time in the whole, he heard his friend get burned while a crowd of people came out to watch. Big Boy also came in contact with animals such as a snake and dog. In order to survive, he used his abilities to kill or hurt them before they got to him. It rained the night that he was in the hole; there wasn’t much he could do about it if he wanted to live. Survival was also an issue before the man, later defined as Jim, died. Big Boy could have easily tried to run or leave the scene when his friend was about to get shot, but he was determined to not let that happen. He used his strength and proceeded with what he thought was the best way to handle the situation. As a result, he survived it. Another theme that was major, perhaps not as major as racism and survival was courage. I mentioned it previously in this description; however, I don’t want it to go overlooked. I just to emphasize one more time exactly how courageous Big Boy was! He fought for his life and did much of it on his own. At his age or any age, some people would have never made it as far as he did. Put yourself in his shoes. Could you hide out in a hole overnight with dogs and snakes? Would you go up against someone who has a shotgun? These are all things to think about. If your answer was yes, then you too are courageous. If you weren’t sure about you answer or definitely decided that you couldn’t, it is obvious that Big Boy is extraordinary.